520+ Middle School Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Keeping the attention of a middle schooler is hard. But our collection of gripping middle school short stories will do the trick!

⭐️ Recommended stories

“An Aye for a Legg and a Legg for an Aye” by Mister X

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #183

If Lucky Chances wasn't the worst singles bar in South Florida, it's only because the Board of Health had closed down the others. There were just so many hepatitis cases one county could handle at a time.Woodrow Aye arrived at happy hour promptly at 6:07 p.m., just after clocking out from the big box retailer that kept him gainfully employed, assuming wearing a blue vest and bitching about the Miami sports teams constituted work. After a few spritzes of Drakkar Noir and a drive-thru dinner at BurgerFace, Woodrow walked into Lucky Chance’s da...

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“The Student's Struggle” by Michał Przywara

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #155

Harvey Deenwaller really shit the bed when he tried out for the basketball team, because he forgot what we all knew: junior high school was bullshit. Trying leads to judging, judging leads to failing, and failing leads to being a loser. Of course we only heard about him, but it was all anyone talked about all day, and when we got into seventh period English we found out that Stacey McCain had seen it. She was always creeping on Carlos Messerschmidt – although she’d never admit it, except she was always admitting it – and Carlos was already o...

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“THE SEA SPIDER AND THE BLUE HAIRED BOY” by Theresa Anna

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #135

When the giant sea spider swallowed the entire town of Cobble, it was decided that something should be done about it. Flee, the next town over and slightly higher up, had watched the unfortunate event from their balconies and terraces, very pale and very shaky, and also very quiet—in case the sea spider decided to look up and think about dessert. But lucky for the town of Flee, the sea spider had poor vision. He was old—old as the sea in which he inhabited—and every century or so felt peckish for a town or two, depending on his appetite....

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“The Apology I Didn't Owe” by Clara Baik

Submitted to Contest #278

The courtroom was quiet except for the occasional shuffle of papers and the distant murmur of voices in the hallway. Mia sat nervously on one of the hard wooden chairs, clutching her hands together in her lap. The only sound that seemed to fill her ears was the pounding of her own heartbeat. She had never been in a courtroom before, let alone a disciplinary hearing. But today, she was here—and she had no idea why. It had all started two weeks ago when Mia was called to the principal’s office during her lunch break. She was sitting in the caf...

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“The price of popularity:” by Cohdee Dimarco

Submitted to Contest #277

By Cohdee Dimarco, 14 My breath shuddered as the icy wind lashed against my skin, its cruel touch biting into my thick curls now glazed with ice. I stood uncomfortably at the towering gates, their dark shadows looming over me. In the distance, children’s laughter and shrill screams echoed—grating on my ears like nails on a chalkboard. Desperately, I clasped my hands over them, trying to drown it all out. “Mika, are you alright, darling?” A warm, firm hand pressed against my back. I turned to see my soft-hearted aunt Susan, her gaze filled wi...

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“The Wicked Redhead” by Keila Aartila

Submitted to Contest #277

She wasn’t really wicked, though. She just needed some understanding and a lighter touch. She was sensitive. And smart. When the wranglers came to her stall to turn her out and clean, she would always pin her ears and bare her teeth. This behavior frequently resulted in her being left alone, as well as earning a bad reputation, threatening to end in slaughter. I had grown up on this ranch, and was a pretty good hand, myself – especially with the horses. In all of my twelve years, I had never seen anything like that ornery, chestnut mare, Bel...

10 likes 6 comments 6

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“Shattered Certainties” by Scott Taylor

Submitted to Contest #276

The universe had always been a place of cold, hard truths. Being an engineer and a committed agnostic, I had always rejected the idea of a higher power, considering it merely wishful thinking. It wasn’t until I faced an unplanned physics experiment regarding inelastic collisions that changed my mind.  Like many people, I imagined death as a permanent, dreamless sleep. I was self-sufficient and content with my life. Where my beliefs started is simple. I grew up hearing about how poor my father’s family was and how his mother would give m...

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“The Girl with the Ocean eyes” by Allison Roe

Submitted to Contest #276

I was a loser. I was a too-tall, overweight, closeted girl with no social skills. I had spent two years trapped inside the house with my family hiding from an illness that was killing millions of people. I spent those two years playing Minecraft, watching any people skills I had slowly crumple into nothing, and fighting with my sister. My parents decided it was time for a change so they packed up our home in the big city to move us across the country to a small town that was centered around its high school and middle school.  I had long...

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“Adolescent lessons in dating and popularity” by Neil Liebowitz

Submitted to Contest #276

Adolescent lessons in dating and popularity You can say that I was a misfit growing up since I didn’t fit in with others my age. My worldview evolved from a composite series of adolescent failed attempts and near catastrophes. I didn’t play or watch football or baseball. I spent time in the library reading esoteric topics like politics, psychology and new age books about Eastern religions. I didn’t like to join teams but was willing to participate with a small group of friends. I was friendly with the less popular girls but wasn’t attracted...

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“Liam the Lovable, But Fearful, Leprechaun” by Edward J. McCoul

Submitted to Contest #274

“Liam the Lovable, But Fearful, Leprechaun” By Edward J. McCoul There are two things Liam O’Shaughnessy loved more than anything in the world: gold and friendship. And there were two things he feared more than anything else: heights and rainbows. Which was unfortunate, since he was a leprechaun. Every time he went to check on his gold at the end of a rainbow, he’d have to climb up a hill or down a rocky slope. “That gold won’t guard itself, Liam,” he’d mutter to himself, inching along on shaky legs. Then he’d see the shimmering rainbow stret...

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“The Unwanted Unicorn ” by Edward J. McCoul

Submitted to Contest #274

“The Unwanted Unicorn” By Edward J. McCoul It all started on a perfectly ordinary Tuesday. Twelve-year-old Max was home alone, nose-deep in a video game when he heard a loud, wet sloshing sound from the backyard. That was strange. He muted his game and listened. There it was again—a sound like someone was pouring oatmeal into a bucket. He crept to the back door, cracked it open, and peeked outside. And there, in the middle of his mom’s prize rose bushes, was the last thing he ever expected to see. A unicorn. It wasn’t quite what he had imagi...

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“A Walk in the Hereafter” by Timothy Benson

Submitted to Contest #272

“A Walk in the Hereafter” It’s taking a lot longer than I thought it would. Of course, there’s no guidebook for dead people, at least as far as I know. After three months I’m still trying to get used to being dead. Even using that word is hard to adapt to. When death comes people usually use terms like “He passed away” or “She’s in a better place”. It makes them feel better but the person is still dead and words can’t change that. I guess it’s just a way that people try to adjust to the whole situation. And one of the biggest things I’m tryi...

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“Pick of Destiny” by Nicole N

Submitted to Contest #271

Pick of DestinyBy Nicole Ney **Warning: this story contains harsh language and subject matter that may not be suitable for everybody. Please read at your own risk**Those curves. That neck.That mahogany body. I caressed her maple neck as I gently eased her up. Corvette red. My heart raced, it was all so real. This was it. This was the moment. Active pick up, I thought to myself. I caressed her four strings and a little sound came out (of both of us I’m sure). It felt like destiny, like it was meant to be. I pulled her into the light, as ...

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“The Dress” by Fran Hirschel

Submitted to Contest #269

The Dress I grew up in a modest apartment in Astoria in Queens. Our block was made up of mostly 6 story apartment buildings, although there were three single family homes. One of them had a magnificent magnolia tree that bloomed each spring in brilliant pink and white flowers. I walked past that tree four times a day when I was in elementary school: going to PS 5 in the morning, returning home for lunch, and then going back to school for the afternoon session and returning home again after school. Today it seems foreign; ...

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“The Diamond Ring” by Mark Winter

Submitted to Contest #269

Sam slumped in the dugout, the Texas sun scorching his back, yet unable to warm the chill running through him. The sounds of laughter and shouts from the baseball diamond faded into a dull hum as he twisted a worn cap in his hands. His teammates—friends from school—were caught up in the fun of the game, but for Sam, every crack of the bat only tightened the knot in his gut. Today, it wasn’t just his strikeouts at the plate and bobbled balls on the field that had him down. His mind was clouded by thoughts of his parents’ marriage, or rather, ...

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“I Hate Math...Almost as Much as Dragons” by Natalie Miller

Submitted to Contest #269

My name is Felix Carter. I’m your average seventh-grade teenager. I'm just in limbo between adult and child, not ever knowing where I belong. I go to school, but I never learn anything new. I don’t have a job, and bullies pick on me often. I know, womp womp. I’m in a private school, mostly because of bullies. As a kid, I was pretty skinny, and you can fill in the rest. Oh, and I’m a nerd. I play things like D&D and read fantasy, so you can imagine how my mom didn’t like the amount of black eyes and broken fingers I kept bringing home. Sh...

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“The trumpet” by John Dover

Submitted to Contest #269

The Trumpet By: John Dover “You’ve been staring at that thing for over an hour, Freddie.” Freddie finally blinked, the rough denim of his jacket sleeve dabbing away the welcome moisture in his eyes as he returned to the present. “What? I have not.” “Seems like it. Come on, I want to get to the candy shop before all the good taffy is gone,” Sally pleaded with him. She fought the urge to stamp her feet in frustration and gave a shuffled kick to the ground instead. Freddie had already turned his attention back to the dark patina of the trumpet...

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“Mirror, Mirror” by Erin Bunker

Submitted to Contest #269

Mia sat on the edge of her grandmother's bed, absently picking at the loose threads on the quilt that covered the mattress. Her mother and Aunt Janie stood by the dresser, where Aunt Janie held a copy of Gran's will in her hands. It had been only a week since Gran had passed and it felt wrong, somehow, to be here going through her stuff. Still, her mother and Aunt Janie had insisted that she be here. After all, Gran had left things for all the grandchildren. Mia tried not to cry as she thought about all the sleepovers she'd never get to have...

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